Prince George’s Community College highlights enrollment gains, nursing success and campus projects; seeks matching county funds

Prince George’s Community College President Dr. Felicia D. Williams told the Prince George’s County Council Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee on Feb. 24 that the college served nearly 27,000 students last year, has grown short-term credential completions and recorded a 100% NCLEX pass rate for its nursing graduates.

The presentation to Vice Chair Ingrid Watson and two subcommittee members emphasized workforce-aligned short programs such as the Team Builders Academy, which Dr. Williams credited with connecting graduates directly to employers including Washington Gas and Pepco. "We have been staying true to our commitment to our student first mantra," Dr. Williams said.

Why it matters: County funding decisions and matching allocations affect the college’s ability to expand short-term, employer-aligned training, complete capital projects and pursue statewide initiatives the college says will drive enrollment and local workforce development.

Dr. Williams gave a high-level demographic and performance snapshot: the college serves just under 27,000 students, about 30% full time and more than 70% part time; the reported first-time, full-time graduation rate is 25%; the average age is 34 overall, 25 for credit students and 45 for continuing-education students; and about 43% of students receive some form of financial aid while roughly 37% are Pell-eligible. She said credit-certificate and short-term credential programs are the fastest-growing completions.

On program outcomes, Dr. Williams told the subcommittee the nursing program is ranked first among two‑ and four‑year institutions in the college’s reporting of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) 2023–24 NCLEX results, and said the program posted a 100% pass rate for its graduates. "Our graduates had a 100% NCLEX pass rate," she said.

Capital and schedule updates included a planned completion of Marlboro Hall this year, with classes expected to resume there in January 2026, and a deferred timetable for demolition and rebuilding of the Dr. Charlene MacKenzie Student Center, moved from 2025 to 2026. Dr. Williams also discussed a long‑range 10–15 year vision for a three‑campus model to distribute comprehensive instructional offerings across the county and cited work to modernize science labs in Chesapeake Hall and to refinish the college’s track and tennis courts.

Dr. Williams described legislative and external funding priorities: the college expects to gain about $4.6 million under the CAED funding formula in the current cycle, she said, provided the county matches the allocation; she also mentioned the college’s participation in a statewide cybersecurity training initiative and selection to consider the ASAP program model in partnership with CUNY and the Arnold Foundation as a way to improve on‑time completion for full‑time students.

On services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Dr. Williams said the college met with families and county agencies and found that some existing classes could be packaged and marketed for that population while other program elements would require funding or fee design adjustments. She described differences in third‑party coverage, saying some participants could have tuition covered by DORS (Division of Rehabilitation Services) while DDA (Developmental Disabilities Administration) does not directly cover tuition and would require a fee‑based framing to be usable for those clients.

Subcommittee members asked about program placement and employer pipelines. Dr. Williams said the college works closely with Employ Prince George’s and local hospitals and employers to place graduates through apprenticeships, internships and clinical rotations and that many nursing graduates received job offers at or before graduation. She also said the college is monitoring labor‑market demand when considering proposals such as mortuary science to avoid opening programs where the market is saturated.

The presentation concluded with student success anecdotes the college used to illustrate the Team Builders Academy and other employer‑connected programs. Dr. Williams thanked the council for prior funding that supported expansion of cohorts for short‑term workforce programs.

Looking ahead: the college is requesting county support to match the CAED allocation and listed MacKenzie Student Center and Bladen Hall among capital priorities for future years. The subcommittee did not take a formal vote during the briefing.